“Details matter. It’s worth waiting to get it right.” – Steve Jobs
Well…Wait no more! Secraft parts are rolling in!
These anodized aluminum parts will add the perfect detail to any project! Made out of aluminum, these products are sure to hold up. Vibrant colors and sleek designs will draw your eye and make for the most excellent finishing touches to your model.
Watch as Mathieu, from Opale Paramodels, demonstrates how easy it is to launch the Ultra 3.5 Aerobatic High Performance Paramodel equipped with pilot XL Mike with auxiliary motor kit.
Read the step-by-step procedure Opale Paramodels prepared on how to nail that perfect, easy, take off:
1. Prepare like a classic paramotor take-off.
2. Inflate your kite and guide straight ahead.
3. Give it a good tug towards yourself and wait for the model to stabilize. Then start the engine and take off.
Remember: Make sure the blades have stopped spinning before you land! A good tip is to apply a throttle cut switch to ensure the blades stop turning.
“Silent, powerful, versatile, this kit with a wingspan of more than 5m is perfect for pilots wishing to progress” – Opale Paramodels
Check out our line of beautiful Opale Paramodels here!
Technology is constantly changing, and the RC Industry is no exception to that. With products that need programing, sensors for every possible thing imaginable, “an app for that”, multiple frequencies, constantly improving product specs, and transmitters that might-as-well be mini computers, it is understandable that a new RC pilot may become overwhelmed with information. No worries though, follow our flight school segments to learn the basics of RC.
In this segment, we will learn the history behind Remote Control Flying. In 1897 Nikola Tesla discovered the use of radio signal as a way to control things wirelessly. He successfully sent a wireless transmission from his laboratory to a boat on the Hudson River – a distance of about twenty-five miles (Tandon, 2021). People did not believe his discovery, so he later demonstrated it publicly by wirelessly controlling a boat in a pool in Madison Square Gardens (Hunt, 2023). The first RC boat was controlled by using radio waves to direct its movements through an antenna on the boat (Tandon,2021).
Fast forward to the mid 1930s. During this time there were several influential people that made important contributions to RC Flight. One important set of men are the Good brothers – Walt and Bill. These twin brothers, with backgrounds in ham radios, built the first radio controlled airplane in 1937, known as the Big Guff (Pete, 2023). Being able to control the planes trough radio was a giant step forward in the modeling era.
Ross Hull and Clinton DeSoto, both heavily involved in ham radios, are another two of the early RC pioneers. Together, they built and flew RC gliders in the first public demonstration (Gudaitis, 2015). By the end of the 1930’s their sailplanes had over 100 flights total. Unfortunately, Hull passed away in 1939 and Desoto passed away in 1949.
Leo Weiss, a young engineering student, built a fourteen foot wingspan RC model and together with Jon Lopus they had created the reed-control system, basically an eight channel system (Gudaitis, 2015; Noll, 2018). The reed-control system used “six tuned reeds that responded to audio tones” (Gudaitis,2015), and became more popular in the 1950s.
An electronic technician named Joseph Raspante is another revered pioneer of RC. He built an RC system that “used a telephone dial to select control functions” (Gudaitis, 2015).
In 1939 Howard McEntee published details for a twin-frequency transmitter and by 1941 Thracy Petrides and Leon Hilman had published a multifunction, single channel, RC system (Noll, 2018).
By the 1950’s FCC was granting permissions to the RC Modeling community and transmitters began selling to the public. Since then, equipment and the radio control hobby has only continued to grow and evolve!
“Radio Control” Academy of Model Aeronautics. (February 15th, 2023) URL https://www.modelaircraft.org/radio-control#:~:text=The%20first%20truly%20successful%20Radio,brothers%20to%20fly%20the%20Guff.
“The History of Radio Control” Noll, Bob. Model Aviation. (August, 20108) URL https://www.modelaviation.com/history-of-rc
“The First Days of Radio Control” Gudaitis, Frank. Model Airplane News. (July 28th, 2015) URL https://www.modelairplanenews.com/the-first-days-of-rc/
“Nikola Tesla: Father of Robotics” Tandon, Tulika. Jargon Josh. (July 9th, 2021) URL https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/nikola-tesla-birth-career-inventions-family-death-complete-biography-1625744423-1
“Nikola Tesla” Hunt, Inez Whitaker. Encyclopedia Britannica. (January 3rd, 2023). URL https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nikola-Tesla
“Aeromodelling History” Pete. RC Plane World. (February 15th, 2023) URL
Firmware updates have just been released for many different Esprit Elite products. Read below to learn what is new and head over to the MAV Manager to update your device.
Find the entire line of elite products here.
Our solder coupler sets provide a larger area for solder contact than soldering directly to the connector pins. They also provide strain relief for your power leads (or servo leads) at the connector. With the servo leads, you can easily connect up to four independent signal servo wires. If space is an issue, consider using the vertical solder couplers! Vertical solder couplers are a great addition to the straight power solder couplers for multiple connection.
Best part – they are easy to install! Check them out here!
In a search for Emcotec’s DPSI Ampere and magnetic switches, (since battery redundancy was a must for these helicopters) I was lucky enough to have an opportunity to chat with “Chappy” of Chappy’s Hobbies, and he was kind enough to share with us this photo of his beautiful Helicopters, including two giant turbine helicopters. According to Chappy, “These… are the only turbine helicopters in state of Iowa,” which is quite a neat fact to know – let alone be the one to have them!
The large blue helicopter on top is a Vario EC120, modeled after the Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters) EC120 Colibri. The EC120 is a multi-purpose helicopter that runs a single engine and can seat up to five.1 The EC120 by Vario Helicopters is a 1:4 scale model designed to run either electric mechanics or turbine.2 Chappy’s runs a Jakadofsky Pro5000 Turbine Engine. With massive rotor blades (1050mm according to the manufacture), the EC120 has an eight foot rotor diameter, and weighs in at about forty-two pounds.
On the bottom and to the left, we see a XLV Benzin by Vario Helicopters. Another large helicopter, the XLV Benzin also has an eight foot rotor diameter. Its cabin is constructed of GRP (fiberglass) with a carbon glaze3, and the entire helicopter weighs about thirty-six pounds. For this helicopter, Chappy has chosen to run a Jakadofsky Pro5000 turbine engine as well.
The smaller orange and white helicopter (on the bottom to the right) is an Agusta A-109 running Align mechanics. It is modeled after the Agusta Westland AW109 – another multi-use helicopter developed in the late 1960’s as a commercial helicopter.4
1“Eurocopter EC120 Colibri.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 02 February 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Statistical_hypothesis_testing&oldid=1090223185.
2“H120 (EC120) 1:4 – Fuselage Kit”. Vario Helicopters, 02 February 2023, https://www.vario-helicopter.biz/be/Fuselage-Kit/H120-EC120-1-4-Fuselage-kit::200477.html#horizontalTab1
3“XLV Benzin Pod & Boom Kit”. Vario Helicopters, 02 February 2023, https://www.vario-helicopter.biz/us1/Pod-and-Boom/Pod-Boom-for-Hobby-Use/XLV-Benzin-pod-boom-kit::35466.html#:~:text=The%20XLV%20Trainer%20is%20a,with%20a%20special%20silencer%20system.
4“AgustaWestland AW109”. Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 02 February 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AgustaWestland_AW109
5Photo from Brian “Chappy” V.
Ever wonder what makes up those high quality parts? Well, wonder no-more. We can show you!
Top Model designs their scale wings to be sturdy, light weight, and easy to transport. The wings have a foam core surrounded by obechi sheeting with carbon fiber reinforcement. The wing is then covered in Ultracote. Both the wing and fuselage have pre-installed wiring harnesses that also include multi-pin connectors for fast, trouble-free setup at the field. Due to Topmodel’s ingenious retention system, the wings are easy to remove and transport, yet kept secure when in flight.
Check out all of our TopModel Sailpanes here:
Now, we know that our system is electric, but that doesn’t mean we don’t need efficient cooling! To meet our requirements we added these aluminum cooling vent covers to our OV-10 Bronco. A quick paint job and et voilà – a beautiful new upgrade. Check it out!
This pup loves to chase after our Albatros Classic Sport 3E and Super Sport 2.35E, and these angelic aircraft are definitely worthy of chasing.
Classic in design, but not lacking in technological advancement, the Albatros Classic Sport is one of our favorite choices for a trip to the flying field. It sports a gel-coated fiberglass fuselage, balsa/ply D-tube wing, and a carbon/balsa built up tail. The three meter wing is in three pieces wing for easy travel and storage. Complete with the ailerons, elevator, rudder, and flaps, you are in full control as you fly. As a final touch, the wing and tail are beautifully covered in transparent Ultracote.
Check out the specs here.
The Super Sport 2.35 is another beautifully designed aircraft. This airframe also has a gel-covered fuselage, carbon and balsa built up tail, and a two piece wing that has a carbon fiber main spar/leading edge. Like the Albatros Classic Sport you also have ultimate control while flying with ailerons, elevator, rudder, and flaps.
Read more about the Super Sport 2.35 here.
Possibilities are endless with the Falcon Line of ESC’s. Due to the advanced processor capabilities inside the equipment, Falcon ESC’s offer many advantages. Check out this video we made to demonstrate motor reversal by simply flipping a switch on your Jeti transmitter!
